Staying the Course
Former GOP senator Rick Santorum believes his staunch defense of the Iraq War helped lead to his defeat. But he still believes U.S. troops need to continue the fight.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19640669/site/newsweek/WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Sam Stein
Newsweek
Updated: 8:03 p.m. ET July 6, 2007
<<snip>>
With growing unease on the right about prolonged U.S. engagement in Iraq, the White House is finding it more difficult to find defenders of its policies. But in an interview with NEWSWEEK’s Sam Stein, former GOP senator Rick Santorum criticized his former colleagues who have broken with their commander in chief. After losing his seat last fall, Santorum became a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington think tank dedicated to applying “Judeo-Christian moral tradition to critical issues of public policy.” He’s also writing a book on radical Islam and global terrorism. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: What are your thoughts on the GOP senators who have recently spoken out against Bush on the war?
Rich Santorum: I’m very disappointed that my colleagues are, I think, bowing clearly to the political pressure of the moment that is out there across America. Americans are frustrated with the prosecution of this war. They don’t understand why we’re in it. They don’t see any reason to continue the fight and instead of going out there and arguing more clearly than the administration has to this point, and putting this in the proper perspective for the American public,
have decided to join the other side and abandon ship. I think that’s absolutely irresponsible and will come back to haunt us as a party.
But aren’t they merely listening to their constituents, who by and large want a change in America’s Iraq policy?
Constituency always plays a role. The question is how much of a role? From my perspective, I listened very intently to the folks of my state but ultimately I did what I believed was of the best interest for my state and country. And I lost because of it. I’m sure all of these members are hearing it. People are not happy with the war, period … There are lots of reasons for frustration, but that does not excuse poor policy.
What would you advise the president right now on Iraq or any of the 2008 Republican candidates for president?
It’s not a pretty time. You have a leader of your party who refuses to go out and identify the enemy. So when you go out there and do what I did in my race, you get your hat handed to you because people think you are to the right of the president. It’s just not politically tenable to go out and fight for at this point.
I say put what’s best for America first and what’s best for America is someone clearly articulating who this enemy is and why we can’t walk away. It’s not a popular thing to say but it’s the right thing to say. You may not win this election but there will be other elections where you will do well having stood up on the right side of history. I’m not too sure that by November 2008 that it won’t be obvious that what the Democrats are doing has been the most crass form of politics.
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